


The Smile That Wins

by Marta



Category: Lord of the Rings (2001 2002 2003), Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works
Genre: Character Study, Courtship, Ficlet, Gen, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-12
Updated: 2007-07-12
Packaged: 2017-10-17 03:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/172440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marta/pseuds/Marta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the Houses of Healing, Faramir begins to fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Smile That Wins

He had asked everyone he met for tales of her. What brought her to Gondor? What family had she left behind? Why didn't she smile?

 _Hwithlaefdige_ her kinsmen named her, as frozen as winter's last frost, but Faramir disagreed. She was fire, summer's lightning. That thought frightened him. Fire destroyed, engulfed, left only blackened stone and charred flesh. He was but a man; he could not stand against, or with, the flame. How could he even approach her, this lady as white and pure as the Star-kindler herself?

Yet they walked together, and she spoke of her brother. A smile broke free before she could smother it, and her cheeks reddened. Her voice lightened, a blue spark shone through her icy eyes, and she laughed in spite of herself.

 _Ai, hlaefdige min_! Faramir could not hide his smile. If his lady could smile, could she be mere man as well?

**Author's Note:**

> And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,   
> So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,   
> The smiles that win, the tints that glow,  
> But tell of days in goodness spent,   
> A mind at peace with all below,   
> A heart whose love is innocent!
> 
> ("She Walks in Beauty Like the Night" by Lord Byron)


End file.
